STINCHCOMBE PARISH WEBSITE - Parish Council Minutes 179 04/05/05

Present
Mr G Brown (Chairman)
Mrs M Shaw (ViceChairman)
Mr R Bartlam (Parish Councillor)
Mrs M Wannell (Parish Councillor)
Mr R Holloway (Parish Councillor)
Mr J Larroucau (Clerk)
Mr D Wride (District Councillor)
One Parishioner

Apologies for Absence
Mr G Wheeler (County Councillor)

The Chairman opened the Meeting and welcomed the District Councillor ,Parishioner and Parish Councillors.

1-Approval of Minutes of Annual Assembly held on 11^th May 2004
The Minutes were accepted as representing an accurate record of the Assembly and signed by the Chairman.

2-Actions arising from Minutes
No Actions were recorded in the Minutes.

3-Annual Report by the Chairman of the Parish Council
The Chairman stated that he intended to present his report under four main headings.

-Meetings of the Parish Council
The Parish Council has met at regular intervals of 6 to 8 weeks over the past year which accords well with statutory and “Best Practice” requirements.
The Meetings have been well attended by the County and District Councillors. As in past years they have shown a keen interest in Parish Matters and have made valuable contributions to the discussions. They were thanked by the Chairman for their support.
Also there had not been any changes to the Tree Warden and Snow and Flood Warden appointments. Mr Sheldon has taken up the Snow Plough Operator duties. Messrs Connell and Holloway were thanked for their efforts.

-Financial Matters
The Parish Council Accounts will be presented later by the Clerk.
Donations of £30 each were made to four Charities amounting to approximately 5% of the Precept. This represents a small decrease from previous years.
No Applications for aid under the Rural Grants Scheme were made during the year. Chairman noted that Applications for grants under this year’s scheme need to be submitted by 30^th June. Hard copy forms are available from the Chairman and Clerk or may be downloaded from the Stroud District Council website.
The precept for this year has been kept unchanged.
The Parish Council has approved the repair of the water Fountain near the Church. The gable end is damaged and the commemorative plaque badly eroded.

-Planning Matters
During the past year some 25 to 30 Planning Applications have been received and commented upon.
The most notorious Applications had been those covering the building of Bunds along the M5 Motorway at Wick Lane and at Clingre Farm.
The Clingre Farm development has been handled in a most commendable and considerate manner, causing minimum disturbance to Residents. Road surfaces have been kept reasonably clean . Chairman thanked the Developer for his care and attention.
The Wick Lane Development on the other hand has caused great disturbance and trouble to Residents. The Parish Council and local Residents have been very active on the matter and have made numerous approaches to SDC, GCC and the local Member of Parliament .These have met with mixed success.
Townsend Farm has now been vacated and the site is expected to be offered for sale with a view to redevelopment in the near future. Local Residents have expressed some concern that the site has been left unguarded and may attract vandalism. The Parish Council will discuss the situation and consider the possibility of contacting GCC for information on their plans for redevelopment and for any change of use of the land immediately adjoining the farm buildings.
It is known that the Dursley Rugby Club wish to acquire a parcel of land along Oldhill Lane and that negotiations are still continuing.

-Other Points
A new Safety Surface has been installed at the Children’ Playground.and is proving successful.
The installation of Traffic Calming measures has been completed following the introduction of a 30MPH Speed Limit some two years ago. Whilst the speeds of vehicles are seen to have decreased they remain a source for concern. Similar plans are in place for Taits Hill Road.
Under the Community Safety heading Chairman noted that a meeting was held with the SDC Community Safety Officer in November last year at which the concerns of the Councillors on the number of Burglaries and Thefts in the Parish had been discussed. A request had been made for the Neighbourhood Wardens to make occasional visits to the Parish on a trial basis as and when availability of manpower made this possible. The support of Residents is viewed to be crucial in this matter and at this point no formal arrangements which will involve the provision of some funding have been made.
The Neighbourhood Watch is being re-established with the appointment of a Coordinator.
The Chief Executive of SDC has introduced regular meetings with Chairmen and Clerks of Parish and Town Councils. These have proven most useful and the topics covered have been of great interest. Contact has also been made with Chairmen and Clerks representing other Councils.
Disappointment was felt at the lack of support for the Spring Clean. In view of the diminishing levels of support in previous years, it had been decided that this year the arrangements would be left to individual areas. As no response had been received it has been decided to revert to the previous fixed day arrangement in future years.
Finally the Chairman expressed his gratitude to Councillor Bartlam for his work as Councillor and Chairman of the Village Hall Committee, and for his efforts in setting up the Stinchcombe website and the publication of the Quarterly Newsletter, all at no cost to the Parish.
Other Councillors and the Clerk were also thanked for their support.

Following the conclusion of the Chairman’s Report Councillor Holloway expressed his gratitude to Mr Sant of Wick Lane for his efforts to minimise the disturbance of the Wick Lane works to local residents by pressing Officials at SDC and GCC for action in the matter. Chairman joined Mr Holloway in expressing his gratitude and that of other Councillors.

4-Parish Council Accounts for the Financial year ended 31^st March 2005
Clerk presented the unaudited Accounts. The External Auditor has set the Audit Date as 1^st August 2005.
The internal Audit will take place on 5^th May.
The unaudited Accounts are appended to the Minutes. The audited Accounts will be posted on Noticeboards after the completion of the Audit.

5-Accounts of Stinchcombe United Charities
6-Accounts of Dursley United Charities
These were presented by Mr Holloway in his capacity of Parish Council Representative Trustee to both Charities. Dursley United Charities continue to suffer from lack of income from the vacant properties on Silver Street. A Surveyor’s report is still awaited.
The Accounts of the two Charities will be circulated to Councillors.
Background material covering the activities of the Charity will be provided to Mr Bartlam for inclusion on the Website.
Chairman expressed the gratitude of the Parish Council for his work for the Charities.

7-Trafalgar WeekEnd
The options had been discussed at the recent Meeting of the Parish Council and included a party in the Village hall at some point during the weekend, a Beacon on Stinchcombe Hill along the lines of the Millennium and Jubilee or the planting of a commemorative oaktree.
Mrs Brown noted that the occasions for Village get togethers were now becoming rare and that a get together in the Village Hall would be most appreciated.
Another possibility was a Church Service with bell ringing with or without a Village Hall Party.
It was resolved that Chairman will prepare a leaflet seeking the preferences of Residents.
Action-Chairman

8-Reports by County and District Councillors
As Mr Wheeler was unable to attend, his report was presented by the Clerk and is appended to these Minutes.
Mr Wride’s Report is appended to the Minutes.

9-Reports by Parish Councillors
Mrs Shaw reported on her activities as Parish representative Trustee for the Stinchcombe Hill Recreational Ground Trust.
Mrs Wannell reported that quotations for the restoration of the fountain were being prepared. Clerk asked for these to be made available by 30^th June so that an Application for support under the Rural Grant Scheme may be submitted to SDC.
Mrs Wannell also reported that improvements to the Village Hall such as the installation of Disabled Facilities are underway.
Mr Holloway reported on progress with the Neighbourhood Watch. A Coordinator remains to be appointed. Clerk was asked to approach the SDC Community Safety Officer for an update on the latest form of the Scheme. Action-Clerk
Mr Bartlam enquired on the availability of Councillor Training Courses. Clerk stated that these were organised at various times by GAPTC and by the University of Gloucestershire but Councillors viewed that generally they were given insufficient notice. Clerk was asked to obtain further details. Action-Clerk
Mr Wride noted that if courses could be arranged jointly with other Parishes reduced fees might be negotiated.

Chairman then thanked the Resident for her attendance and closed the Meeting at 9 05PM.

J Larroucau
Clerk to the Parish Council min 179

8-As Mr Wheeler was unable to attend, his report was presented by the Clerk and is appended to these Minutes.Mr Wride’s Report is appended to the Minutes.